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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: Trav86 on February 25, 2019, 08:47:17 AM
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So, I’m having some trouble understanding this song. I know that LaBrie said that it is basically about a woman who is raped. But like most of his lyrics, it’s very vague. Is it suppose to be the victim’s point of view? Or from someone else who is speaking to the victim? Am I an idiot for struggling with this?
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I had heard Jame's explanation of this song before I heard the song itself. Without him explaining the "plot", I would have never got that out of the lyrics. I think the lyrics can mean multiple things. More like they can be helpful in multiple ways. Great song meaning despite being vague. No points off for that.
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I think the point of view is from her husband/boyfriend.
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That’s what I was thinking. Like James didn’t want to try to speak for a woman who was in that situation so he tried to imagine himself living with someone that did.
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Indeed, the song is from the point of view of a partner of someone victim of abuse.
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He also explained that it's very hard for these women to stay in a relationship with someone after going through this, becuse it's such a shock they don't know how to react to other men. That's why the partner is singing "Don't leave me now", he wants to reassure her that he's there with her, to help her.
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Yeah, I think its point of view is that of a partner of someone who has been a victim of rape, an approach quite like Disappear with a terminal disease or Vacant with a disabling disease. I find it quite interesting and I adore all of those songs the same.
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Yeah, I think its point of view is that of a partner of someone who has been a victim of rape, an approach quite like Disappear with a terminal disease or Vacant with a disabling disease. I find it quite interesting and I adore all of those songs the same.
Vacant was about LaBrie's daughter's coma, I believe
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Yeah, I think its point of view is that of a partner of someone who has been a victim of rape, an approach quite like Disappear with a terminal disease or Vacant with a disabling disease. I find it quite interesting and I adore all of those songs the same.
Vacant was about LaBrie's daughter's coma, I believe
Her seizure. But yeah, his reaction to seeing what his daughter was going through.
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Wasn't Disappear actually about an unexpected tragedy? inspired to James by seeing an happy couple at the airport and wondering what could happen if something horrible suddenly happened? I was surprised to hear it was basically fiction, the lyrics are so heartfelt and emotional that I was sure James was talking about the illness of his mother.
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Wasn't Disappear actually about an unexpected tragedy? inspired to James by seeing an happy couple at the airport and wondering what could happen if something horrible suddenly happened? I was surprised to hear it was basically fiction, the lyrics are so heartfelt and emotional that I was sure James was talking about the illness of his mother.
Yep. He said he just thought it up from seeing them. Kinda fucked up. But man, James can really pull out the emotional lyrics.
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Wasn't Disappear actually about an unexpected tragedy? inspired to James by seeing an happy couple at the airport and wondering what could happen if something horrible suddenly happened? I was surprised to hear it was basically fiction, the lyrics are so heartfelt and emotional that I was sure James was talking about the illness of his mother.
"James was walking through a mall and saw a couple which looked like they were newly wed. He thought how such a newly wed couple with years ahead them would be if one of them got a terminal disease. This song is about the partner who doesn't have the disease."
I believe this is accurate. I found it on a reddit thread presenting the lyrics, but I recall reading this explanation before, so I trust it.
-Marc.
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I never would have got that it's about a woman getting raped/abused. Reading the lyrics before hearing the song and not knowing what it's about, I interpreted the lyrics as the viewpoint from the partner and the issue is just the spouse being in a state of depression, negative mindset or mental anxiety or just general extreme stress which is causing friction between them. He wants to help but when someone is in that mindset, they can push people away, especially their partners. Maybe I'm just reading them with my own experiences in mind, but that's what I got out of them. They are very vague, but that's not a bad thing. I like lyrics that I can interpret differently based on my own experiences.
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Well, but what you say is still pertinent to the song, it's just that from interviews James revealed the actual source of said stress and anxiety. The song is vague enough so that can be relatable by many people going through that regardless of the reason, which is after all the point of music, to be able to connect and reasonate with people and give voice to their own experiences.
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Well, but what you say is still pertinent to the song, it's just that from interviews James revealed the actual source of said stress and anxiety. The song is vague enough so that can be relatable by many people going through that regardless of the reason, which is after all the point of music, to be able to connect and reasonate with people and give voice to their own experiences.
This. One of the biggest criticisms I've seen for the lyrics of TBOT is that Mike wrote them way too specific/literal, to the point nobody else connects to them as with other songs, like ACOS, to keep the topic similar.
I think James did a great job with all his lyrics in D/T, specially AWE.
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This is a copy and paste I responded to elsewhere, and I think adds another little element, which is likely unintended but a cool thought...
The idea that I really like, is from one of the reviews that mentioned the uplifting solo may mean the partner is starting feel she is starting come to terms and accept things in order to move forward. But the impromptu live Easter egg ending, shows a rawer, almost twisted version of the “pretty section”, where upsetting little fragments of this experience still find their way through her psyche. I don’t actually believe the band may have done this on purpose, and likely just wanted to have a cool little Easter egg. But regardless, I think it’s a great thought process, and one I’m happy to go with, intentional or not, as it seems to fit the feel and vibe of the song beautifully.
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The interplay between the lyrics and music of AWE reminds me a lot of Scarred.
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I think the first section is the woman's partner not understanding, and the end is the woman basically going - "he doesn't understand."
It sounds less poetic that way, but yeah. I think it's that tension and frustration.
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I think the song is told from both points of view:
"Let me help you, how much longer until you realize?
You're getting worse
It's killing you inside
I can't break through
Feel you have to face this on your own
Want to be left alone
Don't leave me now, don't leave me now
I know that it's tearing you apart
Don't leave me now, don't leave me now
Come alive
You feel I'm asking too much of you but can't let go
Fear breeds the hate and your apathy, empty and hollow
You lost your face, there's no getting through
Why shut me out?
Frantic, disturbed, filled with misery, can't figure it out"
---this is from the partner POV
"Sleepless, worse for wear, staring at the ceiling
Numb, sedated, intoxicated
Deafening, deafening
Shut it out, shut it out
Burning, burning
No way out, no way out"
---this is from the woman POV
[Chorus is again from the partner POV]
"Asked me to listen
Can't go on and face another day
I lied, not admitting
What I lost is still in you
Something's missing
You see darkness in my eyes
Maculate, there is no cure
Playing over, stop pretending
Warped inside its never ending tide"
---again from the woman POV
[Outro is from the partner POV]
And my theory is that the room recording means there's a happy ending: compare the solo, and how cathartic it is, and then the reprise, which is majestic, kind of Ambient too.
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I think that’s a great analysis :tup James definitely knows how to write great lyrics, btw.
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I agree with that analysis as well, but have a different take on the outro. The music sounds like it is on the other side of a wall/door. Not accessible. I think she could never recover her relationship with the man, and the relationship ends - he doesn't have access anymore.
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Its not an happy ending. The video ends with a girl walking away. I think the fading vocals in the end and the fade out means that 'he' is left alone by her and her issue leaving and losing it despite the attempts to get grip . The reprise means him remembering the undealable situation.
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Since I didn't see the video I know I'm already 100% wrong, but geeeemo's comment made me think of an outside view of their couple, that seems happy to another person, and the bells+keyboard sound sounds glassy, and glass is fragile tho :D
I know I'm going far, but DT is an invitation to imagination !
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What video is that? Something on deluxe version or similar?
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What video is that? Something on deluxe version or similar?
In the Artbook edition there is a Dvd/ blue ray with anymations for all song.
Nice
As concerns the lyrics, I think "maculate" is the key word to link her situation to a rape
Initially I also thought it was an happy ending, but the fade+ wall interpretation makes sense
Still I see some hope in the melody chosen...
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What video is that? Something on deluxe version or similar?
If you saw the trailer, all those clips were part of the videos for the each song. The videos were also used at the NYC release party(which is how I got to see all the videos).
I didn’t think of the ending and thought the comeback after the fade out meant nothing but you are sharing interesting views here